Motown
Motown is the name of an American record label , founded in 1959 by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit . The name is a contraction of "Motor City", the nickname for Detroit, and the word "town". 1 Especially in the sixties and seventies Motown was more than a label. The music was produced by Gordy tagged as "The sound of young America", was the first basis for the breakthrough of African-American popular music to a white audience. The music has a distinctive sound by a solid group of composers and producers for the design and made for virtually all shooting the same house band The Funk Brothers was used, with background vocals by The Andantes and their male counterparts The Originals . Motown brought forth many great stars, of whom Diana Ross (& The Supremes ), Michael Jackson (& The Jackson 5 ), Stevie Wonder , Marvin Gaye , Smokey Robinson (& The Miracles ), The Four Tops , The Temptations , Martha & The Vandellas and Lionel Richie enjoy the greatest notoriety, also in Europe. Also, Gladys Knight & the Pips , Edwin Starrand The Isley Brothers , who have been successful at other labels, benefited in their Motown period of the opportunities offered this label in song writing, record production and promotion. There were also disappointed Motown artists turned their backs, including Mary Wells , Brenda Holloway and Kim Weston , but their subsequent careers were less successful than when they were under contract with Motown. Motown began as a family business, but was sold in 1988 by MCA Records , and it still switched owners several times. Nowadays Motown part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group, which itself is part of the Universal Music Group . Dutch artists whose Motown has released several records in the US were The Honest Men and The Cats . Since 2009, the Dutchman is Waylon housed by Universal Motown in the section. Contents * 1 History ** 1.1 The early years (1959-1963) ** 1.2 The flowering period (1964-1971) ** 1.3 To California (1971-1988) ** 1.4 No more independent (1989-present) * 2 Motown sound ** 2.1 Background and method ** 2.2 Artists * 3 Label Record (s) 7 ** 3.1 Main Labels ** 3.2 Secondary R & B labels ** 3.3 Other genre labels *** 3.3.1 Country *** 3.3.2 Hip hop / rap *** 3.3.3 Jazz *** 3.3.4 Rock *** 3.3.5 Other ** 3.4 Independent labels which do Motown distribution ** 3.5 UK (pre-TMAL-Motown-) labels ** 3.6 Several labels that are associated with Motown * 4 References History The early years (1959-1963) The start Motown began with the establishment of the Tamla record label by Berry Gordy. Gordy tried, after jobs as a prize fighter and assembly line worker in the auto industry as a songwriter and producer to make a living. He hit an offer of two of his sisters off to participate in a joint venture, especially since he own boss wanted to be. 2 After some successes as a lyricist (including Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson ) he produced forThe Miracles their first song Got a Job. The song was a moderate success, but when Gordy discovered that he had only $ 3.19 in royalties on about loved, he decided to start his own label. Including a loan of $ 800 from the family fund he started on January 12, 1959 the Tamla label. The name was derived from Debby Reynolds' song Tammy's in Love from the film Tammy and the Bachelor . Initially Gordy wanted to use the name "Tammy Records", but when he found out that there is already a "Tammie Records" existed, he chose Tamla. In September 1959 Gordy founded the Motown label. Motown is a contraction of "Motor City", the nickname for Detroit, and the word "town". 1 Bad Girl by The Matadors, who changed their name this at the instigation of Gordy in The Miracles , was the first single released under this released label. The first real hits of Motown were Money (That's What I Want) by Barrett Strong and Shop Around by The Miracles. Also in 1959, Gordy moved to 2648 West Grand Boulevard. This house (see accompanying photo) was not only the home of the Gordy family, but the existing studio and the garage were converted into recording studio and housing of Motown. Gordy renamed the house Hitsville USA and brought also the slogan that he would run for years: "The sound of young America". 1 In the new housing began to grow Motown. Among the first songs that were released were Shop Around by The Miracles , My guy from Mary Wells and Do You Love Me by The Contours . The first records were released from artists such as Stevie Wonder and The Supremes , albeit far been less successful. The flowering period (1964-1971) [ edit ] The latter changed quickly when the Supremes were under the guardianship of the production team Holland-Dozier-Holland (HDH), consisting of brothers Brian and Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier . It was they who in the years from 1964 as no other formed the Motown sound. It was the established names that caused the successes and in the middle of the sixties remained loyal to Motown. The outstanding singers Mary Wells , Brenda Holloway and Kim Weston left with a fight, but was offset by new discoveries like Stevie Wonder 4 and Tammi Terrell , who is a successful singing partner was of Marvin Gaye. At the end of the sixties Motown made a smart move by launching the Jackson 5 . Where Did Our Love Go was the first No. 1 hit for the Supremes and it turned out to be the first of a series of five consecutive US number 1 quotations. Other artists took in subsequent years, the US top of the single sales, but the Supremes were by far the most successful, as evidenced by below-state: Berry Gordy was the driving force behind the success of Motown and was also recognized as such. He received in 1965 the "Small Businessman of the Year Award" from the mayor of Detroit: Motown had seen sales grow from $ 4.5 million in 1963 from $ 10 million in 1964 to $ 15 million in 1965. 1 Behind the above-mentioned artists were the strong songwriter / producer combinations that ensured a continuous flow of new material. The compositions of Holland-Dozier-Holland and Smokey Robinson led to big hits, but also Harvey Fuqua , Johnny Bristol , William "Mickey" Stevenson , William Weatherspoon and later Norman Whitfieldand Ashford & Simpson made important contributions to the success. Almost all the recordings were based on instrumental master tapes, which Gordy's best jazz musicians , recruited from Detroit. This group of session musicians who The Funk Brothers mentioned, the songs played.The vocal part was later sung by stars such as The Supremes, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and others. When backing vocals were three singers, The Andantes deployed, and their male counterparts, The Spinners and later The Originals . This was done anonymously. None of these groups was mentioned in the credits, but they can be heard on many Motown recordings. Through this unity of performers came the typical Motown sound. To monitor that was The Funk Brothers strictly forbidden to act independently or work for other producers. That she herself did do so Gordy left them shadows by private investigators. In 1967 the building on West Grand Boulevard became too small and moved its headquarters from Motown to the Donovan Building in downtown Detroit. For some, this move marked the end of the original Motown, as witnessed by the decision of The Temptations vocalist Paul Williams : "Hitsville ended at the end of the sixties." 1 The fact is that despite the successes, not everything went smoothly. The reason why singers like Mary Wells, Brenda Holloway and Kim Weston left, was arguing about contracts and royalties. All three did Motown successfully to a process. Also leading producers and songwriters went. William "Mickey" Stevenson , who was married to Kim Weston, left with her in 1967. The trio Holland-Dozier-Holland was dissatisfied royalties and the lack of artistic freedom in Motown. They returned to the label in early 1968 their backs, songwriter names William Weatherspoon , and started their own labels, Invictus and Hot Wax. They continued until 1977 embroiled in lawsuits against Motown over royalties. The loss of these visually defining Motown hitmakers had trouble finding suitable songs for the artists. Partly it was provided by the arrival of the duo Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson and by the formation of composer teams as The Clan and The Corporation . Also, it was not all good artists. There were internal problems within the Temptations , which among other things led to the departure of lead singer David Ruffin .Also, Marvin Gaye was a difficult period after the death of his duet partner Tammi Terrell who died at the age of 24 from a brain tumor. Years later, Gaye announced that Terrell when recording her last album with Gaye was so ill that Valerie Simpson took some of the recordings on its behalf. 1 Simpson himself this otherwise contradicted emphatically. The most important was the breakup of The Supremes . In 1967, Florence Ballard replaced by Cindy Birdsong and Gordy changed the name to Diana Ross and the Supremes . It was a first step towards a further solo career for Diana Ross , which really took shape when she left The Supremes in 1970. The images of Diana Ross and the Supremes were often already Supremes no longer come to pass. They were then replaced by The Andantes who regularly took the place of Martha Reeves and The Vandellas around which the last Marvelettes album around Wanda Young accounted for. The attention of Gordy for Diana Ross, who for years was his mistress and whose eldest daughter he later proved to be the father, led at regular times already to friction with other Motown artists, who felt disadvantaged. Especially arguing departed Mary Wells and Brenda Holloway, but Gladys Knight in her autobiography have this a while sharply. 5 Especially in the heyday were Motown and Gordy repeatedly publicly suspected of links with organized crime, but it was never proved that things legally could not pass muster. 1 Gordy later said that although he was innocent, "it really no fun was to be summoned by the FBI. " 2 Around 1970 Motown seemed to understand the spirit in the songs allow political subjects, which until then had been taboo. Thus War and Stop The War Now Edwin Starr and otherwise unsuccessful I Should Be Proud of Martha Reeves & The Vandellas the Vietnam War as a subject and enters Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Now) by The Temptations the racial segregation in discussed. Both Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye recorded the song Abraham, Martin & John on. The latter's social commitment also demonstrated with the groundbreaking album What's Going On , which incidentally was only released after Berry Gordy had long tried to stop it. This is also the only album in which the contributions of The Funk Brothers, essential for almost all Motown music, be written in full in the credits. To California (1971-1988) In 1971, Berry Gordy moved his Determining the activities rather abruptly from Detroit to Los Angeles. For many, this meant a change for some, such as The Funk Brothers even the end of their relationship with Motown. 6 There have continued operations (and relatives of Gordy) back in Detroit, but the focus was still in California. The move Gordy gave the opportunity to add a new branch to Motown: film. His first production was Lady Sings the Blues , a film adaptation of the biography of Billie Holiday with Diana Ross in the lead role. The film was a success and Ross made an Oscar nomination on. Other films followed, but were less successful. Was the musical film The Wiz 1978, which besides Richard Pryor Motown star Diana Ross and Michael Jackson starring accounted for both artistic and commercial flop. On the musical front, there were fewer successes, because the stars from the nineteen sixties sold fewer plates, as well as some visually defining artists left the Motown label: Marvin Gaye , Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder . The latter came after two years back in 1973 and signed a new contract, which he himself a much greater artistic freedom was able to negotiate in Motown and was no longer dependent on the record executives. In the seventies, he knew great success and won a three-time Grammy Award for best album of the year. Besides the leavers were also newcomers who were able to bring Motown back successes: the Commodores , whose frontman Lionel Richie solo was also very successful, Rick James , DeBarge and Teena Marie . In May 1983 Gordy decided the nationwide distribution of Motown in the hands of MCA, rather than continuing with 15 or 20 smaller companies. 2 With this deal, the two companies started working together more closely. Still, things were going difficult for Motown, which were struggling to connect with new trends such as supporting music sales through video clips. This seemed forced selling a real option MCA and was a serious candidate. It came to real negotiations and the end of 1986 seemed to be a line not far away. An important factor was Stevie Wonder , as was included in his contract that Motown could not be sold without his permission. Gordy Wonder however, managed to persuade to go with MCA, but just before the deadline of December 31, 1986 (due to a gain tax) he cancelde yet the deal. 2 It was only a reprieve. In the years that followed did not succeed in sustaining independent Motown responsibly exist. New negotiations with MCA followed, including the financial investment group Boston Ventures played an important role. On June 29, 1988 Berry Gordy gave a press release that began: "After two years have been thinking deeply about, having studied it thoroughly examined and reexamined, and are consulting with several potential buyers, I decided to sell Motown Records to MCA, Inc. " 2 , thus bringing an end to the independence of Motown. Gordy received $ 61 million for the company he started with $ 800. No longer independent (1989-present) [ edit ] MCA appointed Jheryl Busby as manager of Motown, someone with more marketing than management experience. 1 Despite the return of Diana Ross continued successes. Busby came into conflict with MCA and signed a distribution deal with the Dutch company Polygram . After further conflicts sold Boston Ventures Motown in 1993. Polydor. 1 The successes were still off even after Busby was replaced by 34-year-old Andre Harrell. When Motown in June 1998 was forty years old, was celebrated with a gala which were virtually all major Motown stars. Six months later, PolyGram bought by Seagram , all music divisions and merged with theUniversal Music Group was the largest record company in the world. 1 Despite the lack of success was the name Motown exist, and Motown was housed in 2005 Universal Motown Records, headed by Sylvia Rhone. In the Netherlands, Motown in 2009 as publicity when Wayloncontracted the first Dutch artist ever. In the summer of 2011 the original Motown brand was further blown new life and it was placed under what is now The Island Def Jam Music Group called Motown. Motown sound Background and method In developing the Motown sound is Berry Gordy always had in mind that he music had to make that are based was on a basis that still harking back to the roots of the black blues musicians, but he had so changed that it was acceptable for the ( much larger) market of mainstream pop music lovers. Therefore, the sound of Motown sounds too polished than that of other soul labels in the sixties, such as the Stax label. Yet Gordy was of the opinion that the final result was a reflection of the background where the Motown staff came from. He himself summed it once together in six words. "Rats, roaches, struggle, talent, guts and love" ("rats, roaches, struggle, talent, courage and love") Besides the background was also the method an important reason for the consistent Motown sound. It was a record company as a factory was run, something that Gordy had kept from his work in that sector. 2 In Motown working in changing teams composers and lyricists together and the results were divided among the artists who best suits a particular number seemed to pass. Numbers were also frequently recorded by different artists. So was I Heard It Through the Grapevine a hit for both Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight & the Pips , but it was also because Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers , Martha & The Vandellas , The Temptations and The Undisputed Truth put on the plate. There were in addition to the artists, whose name one song was hanged, also the Contributing members is extremely important. They formed the band The Funk Brothers , which contributed in varying combinations on virtually every Motown recordings. In their own words played the band members more No. 1 hits than the Beach Boys , the Rolling Stones , Elvis and the Beatles combined. 6 Also, the background vocals were done by getting the same groups: The Andantes (women) and The Originals (guys ). The factory character was also reflected in the method in which singles were created. All recorded songs were judged by the quality department, which was originally formed under the leadership of Billie Jean Brown.These songs have stood the first test, were then presented in a Friday morning meeting at which decided jointly by the producers which were actually songs was released. According to Gordy golden in those meetings three hard rules: # No producer can vote on his plate # Only Berry Gordy has veto # Anyone who five minutes late is no longer there In his pursuit of perfection Gordy went so far that he at one point a memo distributed with the instruction that "all the artists alone for at least another Top Ten release material" that includes the Supremes have the supplement "... bring we of them only No. 1 plates. " Artists The best-known artists who recorded for Motown: Record Label (s) Main Labels * Motown Records: Founded in 1960, Motown is still the main label for mainstream R & B / soul music (and even nowadays hip hop music). The numbering system of the label is combined in 1982 that Tamla and Gordy, and the label (and the company) is bought by MCA in 1988. Important Motown Artists include Mary Wells , The Supremes , Four Tops , The Jackson 5 , Boyz II Men , Commodores and Erykah Badu .Motown Records' famous slogan is "The Sound of Young America." * Tamla Records: Founded in 1959 Tamla is a primary label for mainstream R & B / soul music. Tamla label is actually the original company: Gordy founded Tamla Records, a few months before he started Motown Record Corporation. The numbering system of the label is combined in 1982 that Gordy and Motown and the label merged in 1988 with Motown. Important Tamla artists include Smokey Robinson & the Miracles , Marvin Gaye , Stevie Wonder and The Marvelettes . Tamla Records 'slogan is "The Sound That Makes the World Go' Round." * Gordy Records: Founded in 1962, Gordy is a primary label for mainstream R & B / soul music. Originally known as Miracle Records (slogan: "If It's a Hit, It's a Miracle"), the name changed in 1962 to avoid confusion with the group The Miracles. The numbering system of the label is combined in 1982 that Tamla Motown and the label merged in 1988 with Motown. Gordy Important artists include The Temptations ,Martha and the Vandellas , The Contours , Edwin Starr , Rick James , The Mary Jane Girls , Teena Marie and DeBarge . Gordy Records' slogan: "It's What's in the Grooves That Counts" * Tamla-Motown Records: British Motown label, founded in March 1965. Tamla-Motown distributed by EMI releases and uses of American Motown labels, but uses its own numbering system. In some cases Tamla-Motown gives singles and albums of Motown Artists who are not released in the US (such as the single "I Second That Emotion" in the version of Diana Ross & the Supremes with The Temptations). Also, some albums released under a different title (eg Supremes album "A bit of Liverpool" was called in the United Kingdom "The Supremes: With Love, From Us To You". 3 Secondary R & B labels [ edit ] * Check-Mate Records: consists only briefly (1961-1962) and is an R & B / soul label, purchased from Chess Records . Key performers were David Ruffin and The Del-Phis (later Martha and the Vandellas ). * Miracle Records: consists only briefly (1961). It's an R & B / soul-label existed for less than a year and was notorious for its advertising slogan "If it's a hit, it's a miracle." Terminated and reorganized as Gordy Records in 1962. The label carries include some early numbers from Jimmy Ruffin and the Temptations ). * MoWest Records: MoWest is short (1971-1973) an R & B / soul label for artists on the west coast of the US Closed when the headquarters of Motown moved to Los Angeles. Important artists were GC Cameron, The Sisters Love , Syreeta Wright , The Four Seasons , Commodores (their first two singles in 1972 and 1973) and Los Angeles DJ Tom Clay . * Motown Yesteryear: a label that publishes in the late 70's and early 80 7-inch singles, based on the entire company history. 9 Only one Motown Yesteryear single retrieves Billboard's Top 40 - The Contours'"Do You Love Me," in 1988 when it was used in the movie Dirty Dancing . * Soul Records: Founded in 1964 Soul is a R & B / soul-label releases less pop and more traditional soul / blues oriented. Famous artists are Jr. Walker & the All-Stars , Shorty Long , Gladys Knight & the Pips andJimmy Ruffin . The label will disappear in 1978. * VIP Records: Established in 1964, VIP is an R & B / soul label. Famous artists are The Velvelettes , The Spinners , The Monitor , The Elgins and Chris Clark . The label will disappear in 1974. * Weed Records: A label with a very short life. Only 1 release, Chris Clark CC Rides Again album from 1969 is released. This release carries the slogan "Your Favorite Artists Are On Weed." The name "Weed Records" is currently owned by a company based in Tokyo-New York Weed Records. Other genre labels Country * Mel-o-dy Records: Founded in 1962 as a secondary R & B / soul music label. Mel-o-dy focused later on Caucasian country artists . A well-known Mel-o-dy artist's Dorsey Burnette . The label will disappear in 1965. * Hitsville Records: Founded as Melody Land Records in 1974, but the name was changed in 1976 in Hitsville. As before, Mel-o-dy Hitsville focuses on country music. It is headed by Mike Curb and Ray Ruff .Hitsville Among other Pat Boone and TG Sheppard under contract. The label will disappear in 1967. The Mel-o-alternator and Hitsville catalogs are now managed by Universal Music Group Nashville. Hip hop / rap * Wondirection Records: A record label owned by Stevie Wonder . It has a 12-inch dance release, the 10'-35 '-raptrack "The Crown" by Gary Byrd and the GB Experience . * Mad Sounds Recordings: Short-time hip-hop / rap label that releases five albums in the 90s, including Zig Zag by Tha Mexakinz . Jazz * Workshop Jazz Records: Motown's jazz label , active from 1962 to 1964. Known Workshop Jazz Artists include the George Bohannon Trio and the Four Tops (continued their recordings for the label for 30 years on board). The Jazz Workshop catalog is now managed by Verve Records . * Mo Jazz Records: Another jazz label founded in the 90's Famous artists are Norman Brown , Foley and J. Spencer. This label (including catalog) has been merged with Verve Records after the merger with PolyGram / Universal. Rock * Rare Earth Records : Founded in 1969 after Rare Earth (to whom the label was called) was contracted. Rare Earth Records was a label that focused on bare rock. Famous names were Rare Earth, R. Dean Taylor , The Pretty Things , Stoney & Meatloaf , Toe Fat and Shaun Murphy . The Cats are the only Dutch band that single and album releases this famous American label. The label also contract the first white band ever signed to Motown: The Rustix . * Prodigal Records : Purchased used by Motown in 1974. Motown Records Prodigal as a second rock label; a sister label for Rare Earth Records. Rare Earth (the band) comes on when the Rare Earth label is removed. Prodigal disappears in 1978. * Records Morocco : Morocco stands for " MO town ROC k CO mpany, "As the name implies, Morocco is a rock label. It is active from 1983 to 1984 and a short-lived attempt to revive the Rare Earth Records concept. Only seven albums are released on the label. The most promising acts are Duke Jupiter and the Black New Wave trio Tiggi Clay (through their singer, Fizzy Qwick ) which eventually move to the parent label. Other * Divinity Records : Short-term (1961-1963) gospel label. * Black Forum Records : A label that focuses mainly on the spoken word albums of progressive and civil rights speeches and poetry. Black Forum presents recordings of dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , Stokely Carmichael, Elaine Brown and others between 1970 and 1973. * Natural resouces Records : This label is active in 1972-1973 and in 1976 as a small label for white artists and instrumental music. It is also used for reissues of Motown, Tamla and Motown and compilations in 1978 and 1979. * Motown Latino Records : Short (1982) label for Spanish / Latin music. * Ocean Front Records : Catalogue department, originally founded in the heyday of the company, then closed in 1983 to be still re-opened in 1996. Motown independent labels which makes the distribution * Biv 10 Records : A hip-hop / R & B label founded by Michael Bivins ( Bell Biv Devoe / New Edition ). The label is active throughout most of the 90s Their catalog includes Another Bad Creation , Boyz II Men and702 . * Chisa Records : Motown distributes for Chisa, a label owned by Hugh Masekela , from 1969 to 1972 (before the label was distributed by Vault Records). * CTI Records : Motown distributes for CTI Records, a jazz label owned by Creed Taylor , from 1974 to 1975. CTI components include CTI Records, Three Brothers Records and Salvation Records. * Three Brothers Records A brief sub label CTI Records which has two single releases. One was by Spike Jones -influenced group, The Clams. * Ecology Records : A very short label of Sammy Davis, Jr. distributed by Motown. Only release: single "In My Own Lifetime" / "I'll Begin Again" by Davis in 1971. * Gull Records : An English label that still exists. Motown distributes for Gull in the US in 1975. Gull has Judas Priest under contract in 1975, but their LPs Sad Wings of Destiny , which would be released by Motown in the US, only comes on the market after the Motown / Gull agreement was expired. * Manticore Records : A record label that was founded by the members of the band Emerson, Lake & Palmer . Manticore provides albums by ELP and other progressive-rock artists . Manticore is originally distributed in the US by Atlantic Records between 1973 and 1975 but switches to Motown label when it stopped in 1977. UK (pre-TMAL-Motown-) labels * London American Records : Motown releases opens from 1959 to 1961 * Fontana Records : Motown releases gives out 1961 to 1962 * Oriole Records : Displays Motown releases from 1962 to 1963 * Stateside Records : Motown releases gives out 1963 to 1964 Several labels affiliated with Motown * Rayber Records * IPG Records * Rich Records * Summer Camp Records * Inferno Records Category:Rhythm and blues Category:American record label Category:Soul Record label Category:Soul